Crude oil futures traded higher on Thursday morning after the official data showed a decline in US inventories for the week ending March 21.
At 9.53 am on Thursday, June Brent oil futures were at $73.18, up by 0.16 per cent, and May crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $69.79, up by 0.20 per cent. April crude oil futures were trading at ₹6004 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Thursday against the previous close of ₹5991, up by 0.22 per cent, and May futures were trading at ₹5984 against the previous close of ₹5975, up by 0.15 per cent.
According to the US EIA (Energy Information Administration), commercial crude oil inventories in the US decreased by 3.3 million barrels for the week ending March 21. At 433.6 million barrels, US crude oil inventories were about 5 per cent below the five-year average for this time of year.
Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 1.4 million barrels from last week and were 2 per cent above the five-year average for this time of year. Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 0.4 million barrels for the week ending March 21 and were about 7 per cent below the five-year average for this time of year.
Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.2 million barrels a day, up by 0.5 per cent from the same period last year. Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied in the US averaged 8.9 million barrels a day, down by 0.2 per cent from the same period last year. Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.9 million barrels a day over the past four weeks, up by 1.8 per cent from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was up 3.9 per cent compared with the same four-week period last year.
US crude oil imports averaged 6.2 million barrels per day for the week ending March 21, an increase of 810,000 barrels a day from the previous week.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced a plan to impose 25 per cent tariff on imported automobiles and parts from April 2. Market fears that such a move could impact the demand for oil, as automobile industry is one of the major consumers of oil in the market. The proposed tariff may lead to an increase in the price of the vehicles, which, in turn, may impact the sales of vehicles. A reduction in vehicle sales could impact the demand for oil.
April menthaoil futures were trading at ₹927.50 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Thursday against the previous close of ₹934.10, down by 0.71 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), April turmeric (farmer polished) contracts were trading at ₹13094 in the initial hour of trading on Thursday against the previous close of ₹13142, down by 0.37 per cent.
April jeera futures were trading at ₹22520 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Thursday against the previous close of ₹22555, down by 0.16 per cent.